sustentation
Americannoun
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maintenance in being or activity; the sustaining of life through vital processes.
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provision with means or funds for upkeep.
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means of sustaining life; sustenance.
noun
Other Word Forms
- self-sustentation noun
- sustentational adjective
- sustentative adjective
Etymology
Origin of sustentation
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sustentātiōn- (stem of sustentātiō ) an upholding, equivalent to sustentāt ( us ) (past participle of sustentāre, frequentative of sustinēre to sustain ) + -iōn- -ion
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Soon Premier Mussolini ascended this mighty sustentation, planted himself on an imperial-seeming musnud.
From Time Magazine Archive
The struggles of Garrison and Wendell Phillips for the rescue and sustentation of fugitive slaves are well-known instances of underground conspiracy.
From Bygones Worth Remembering, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Holyoake, George Jacob
The prolonged, delicate, exquisite sustentation of the pictorial tone seems to me a marvel of ingenuity and fancy.
From Views and Reviews by James, Henry
The revenues confiscated were those used for “the finding, maintaining or sustentation of any priest or of any anniversary, or obit, lamp, light or other such things.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various
He had prepared a sustentation fund scheme for the support of the seceding ministers, and this was at once put into successful operation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
